Guide to the Henri Zerner papers, 1961-1967,
bulk 1965-1967
Rhode Island School of Design Archives
Rhode Island School of Design Archives
Fleet Library at RISD
2 College Street
Providence, RI 02903
Tel: 401-709-5922
Fax: 401-709-5932
email: risdarchives@risd.edu
Published in 2015
Collection Overview
| Title: | Henri Zerner papers |
| Date range: | 1961-1967, bulk 1965-1967 |
| Creator: | Zerner, Henri, 1939- |
| Extent: | .20 linear feet |
| Abstract: | The records focus on acquisitions, gifts, and researcher queries. With the exception of one file containing correspondence (1961-1964) of Director David Giles Carter, the files include predominantly the outgoing letters (1965-1967) of Zerner. |
| Language of materials: | English |
| Repository: | Rhode Island School of Design Archives |
| Collection number: | 23.3.6.2 |
Scope & content
The records focus on acquisitions, gifts, and researcher queries. With the exception of one file containing correspondence (1961-1964) of Director David Giles Carter, the files include predominantly the outgoing letters (1965-1967) of Zerner. Principal correspondents include Karl Faber, William Schab, Proute et fils, Colnaghi, Lucien Goldschmidt, (Mlle) Paule Cailac, Heim, Kornfeld und Klipstein, the Louvre, et al. Included in his files is an internal memo of then Chief Curator Stephen E. Ostrow detailing procedures for the creation and maintenance of curatorial files; and Zerner's resume.Access Points
Subject Names Subject Names Subject Organizations Subject TopicsArrangement
Chronological
Historical note
Henri Thomas Zerner, born 1939 May 25 in Suresnes, France, received his education in Paris and the United States studying at Columbia College, NY (1957-1958), the University of Paris (Licence es lettres, 1961), and l'Ecole Practique des Hautes Etudes (diploma, 1963). He received training in the print Room of the Bibliotheques Nationale, Paris, 1959-1960. Zerner returned to the United States in 1961 for a Focillon Fellowship at Yale University and received his Ph.D. from the University of Paris in 1969.He served as an Assistant and Associate Professor at Brown University, 1966-1973. While at Brown, Zerner joined the staff of the Rhode Island School of Design, Museum Art in the fall of 1965 as the Acting Curator of Paintings and Graphic Arts. He served as a Visiting Curator at various intervals until 1971 when he received a Guggenheim Fellowship. He expanded the Museum's collections purchasing more than 300 16th-20th century prints in 1966 including works by Perelle, Caracci, Gericault, Prud'hon, Guerin, and Jacques Villon. Zerner curated several exhibitions including Prints and Drawings with a Classical Reference (1965/1966), Venice in the Eighteenth Century: Prints and Drawings (1967), and James Jacques Tissot, 1836-1902: A Retrospective Exhibition (1968). See the Directors' Exhibition files.
Zerner joined the faculty of Harvard University in 1973 where he continues as Professor of History of Art and Architecture Emeritus.
Access & Use
| Access to the collection: | The use of certain documents and collections may be restricted. Please consult the Archives staff for further details. |
| Use of the materials: | Permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from archival materials must be obtained in writing from the Archives. The researcher assumes full responsibility for use of material and for conformity to all applicable laws, including copyright. |
| Preferred citation: | Henri Zerner papers, Rhode Island School of Design Archives. |
| Contact information: | Rhode Island School of Design Archives Rhode Island School of Design Archives Fleet Library at RISD 2 College Street Providence, RI 02903 Tel: 401-709-5922 Fax: 401-709-5932 email: risdarchives@risd.edu |
Administrative Information
| ABOUT THE COLLECTION | |
| Acquisition: | The records were transferred to the Archives by the Museum of Art, Office of the Registrar. |
| ABOUT THE FINDING AID | |
| Author: | Finding aid prepared by Barbara Sporer-Filipac. |
| Encoding: | Finding aid encoded by Douglas Doe 2015 September 16 |
| Revisions: |
2015 September 16 |
| Descriptive rules: | Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) |
Additional Information
| Related material: | See the Museum Directors' Exhibition files, 1948-1983, particularly the series Exhibitions, 1966-1971, for extensive files on the Tissot exhibition. |
Inventory
| Box 14, Folder 7 | Museum Director |
1961-1964 |
| Box 14, Folder 8 | Correspondence |
1965 |
| Box 14, Folder 9 | Correspondence, A-D |
1966 |
| Box 14, Folder 10 | Correspondence, G-L |
1966 |
| Box 14, Folder 11 | Correspondence, M-V |
1966 |
| Box 14, Folder 12 | Correspondence |
1967 |
| Box 14, Folder 13 | Correspondence |
undated |